Blyskawicaby nikolai60ChaptersDoing ResearchThis Is Why You Double Check Your ResearchNew Study PlanPractical ApplicationDoing ResearchBlyskawica, Blys to her friends (or anyling who couldn't pronounce her name), happily trotted along the suburbs surrounding Manehatten. Her Changeling hive had recently relocated from Griffin territory to avoid suspicion, and as a result quite a few rookies were getting a chance at their first collection, not to mention their first good look at society beyond the hive. It was a common thing. Rookie collectors were often sent, with overseer help of course, as part of the early deployments because they hadn't yet become accustomed to a set culture. As such they were the fastest to adapt and blend in, while the previous groups spent time relearning mannerisms to avoid risking getting confused. Blys, of course, intended to ensure she proved herself. Poor performance would see her reassigned back to her old duties helping tend to the hive. While there was still room for advancement, she didn't like the thought of being confined to the hive. Sure, she loved her home, but the adventure and experience of the outside world had always kept her dreaming, and few Changelings held the same kind of respect as the collectors did. The description of the job was simple and easy: Blend in, gather ambient emotional energy, don't get caught. Of course, actually achieving those goals was another story. Blending in on its own was a challenge, rapidly absorbing another culture and pretending to have always been a part of it. This was compounded by the second part. While nearly all sentient creatures gave off emotional energy, it dissipated quickly and was best gathered when directed directly at the collector. This meant either pretending to be another pony, or endearing yourself in disguise. Considering how long the second could take, it was often the first. Since Blys' hive didn't approve of ponynapping, this meant finding an opening, slipping in for a few hours, and getting out. Not easy in the least. And all of this, of course, meant not getting caught was never easy. Of course, that was when the most productive method was used. Rookies rarely attempted replacement, and Blys wasn't so overconfident to try. She was currently disguised as an unassuming grey on grey mare, young but unremarkable. The plan was to blend in and learn, then when she got an opening, shift to a separate, more 'appropriate', disguise of her own design based on the situation, and move on from there. These tactics often resulted in either friendship or lust, depending on the situation, and while friendship was the more desirable of the two, for several reasons, early encounters usually generated fairly weak amounts of energy, as opposed to the stronger, but less desirable, lust. She froze and quickly stepped off to the side of the sidewalk as she felt the slow creep of depression nearby. Looking around she spotted an earth pony stallion with a white coat and dusty grey mane slowly walking on the sidewalk across from her. The grey made him appear a little older at a glance, but any further inspection showed he was actually rather young, if a tad thin for the average stallion. And something was eating at him. Not literally of course, but while it wasn't the spiraling depression of a life falling apart, something bad had happened. Something that, perhaps, he would be grateful to have some help with. Doing her best to continue to remain unnoticed, Blys turned around and followed the stallion, careful to keep behind his field of vision as she watched him continue down the street, and turn into a bar she had passed earlier. Well, while some alcohol might muddle the emotions a little, it would help nudge him in the direction she hoped he'd go... Silver Rain walked into the bar and headed towards a booth near the back. It’d been a bad couple of weeks, and didn’t seem to be getting any better. Getting dumped a couple days ago had just been the topper. Silver wasn’t normally one for getting drunk, but after everything, he found the harder drinks too tempting to resist. Ordering a Cider, he settled into his seat to try to forget things for a while. As he settled in, he failed to notice the grey mare taking a seat in the booth behind him. Blys took her seat back to back with the stallion she followed in, and from listening into his conversation with the server managed to determine that he’d had a serious run of bad luck lately. While she couldn’t catch everything, the two major events she could latch onto were that things had started with two weeks of extra hours without pay at his work, and the most recent event had apparently been a very bad breakup a couple days ago. Well, this she could work with. She felt a little bad about taking advantage of this, but it wasn’t anything unusual, and on the bright side, however she handles this could very well cheer him up to. With this she ordered a plain old cider to sip on while she waited, and was surprised at how good it was, and the little bit of love she got out of it. She made a mental note to tell someling to have a look at this ‘Sweet Apple Acres’, wherever that was. Finally cast a simple spell to make this Silver pony a bit more suggestible without realizing he’s talking to her, and began nudging him towards ‘mumbling to himself’ about what was wrong. Blys did her best to hide her embarrassment as she followed Silver home. She had nudged him on as he drank to try to make it easier to keep getting information, but in the process had accidentally gotten him quite drunk. But as a plus, she had managed to find out quite a bit about him and right now was holding a full on conversation with him without him realizing he’s not talking to himself. Once Blys saw they were the only two in view, she moved on with her plan. There wasn’t much she could do but offer sympathy mostly, but, she could at least try to distract him from his loneliness. With this in mind she decided on a pony from out of town, passing through for a day or two, and started questioning him about his perfect mare. It took a bit of encouragement, but she finally managed to get it out of him. Changing form she took a second to adjust to the changes, and looked at her reflection in a window to make sure everything was in place. She wasn’t familiar enough with ponies to be sure, but she felt that her new look would certainly be an eye catcher. Trotting quietly to catch back up, she watched him turn towards the steps of what she assumed was his home, and watched him fumble to try to get the door open. Giggling at his antics, she slid up beside him and put a wing over his shoulders to help support him. Silver looked up, staring at her wide eyed for a moment, managing to get out a single word. “Who…?” Tossing him her best cute smile, she leaned close and whispered, “call me Autumn Bliss, here, let me help you with that.” Using her magic, she opened the door and guided him in. Author's Note Yet another story to keep me busy. Comments welcome as always ^_^ This Is Why You Double Check Your ResearchSilver Rain groaned and shifted in his sleep, snuggling closer to the soft warmth of a dream that felt like it was hugging him back. He was barely on the edge of starting to wake up, but he could already feel the hangover making itself known and didn't want to let go of that comfort till he had to. Except...that wasn't a dream. As the misery of the hangover drug him further into wakefulness, that warm, comforting, embrace only felt more and more real. Slowly cracking his eyes, he found himself nuzzled into a mane of brilliant auburn streaked with lighter shades of red. Pulling back slowly, his eyes widened, sleep quickly shoved out of the way, as he saw the mane belonged to a gorgeous mare with a chestnut coat, white 'boots' above her horse-shoes, wings whose tips ended with more light orange feathers, and a tail to match her mane. But it wasn't waking up with a knock out mare that nearly stopped his heart. It was waking up with a knock out mare who had a long horn to go with that brilliant pair of powerful wings. Blys had felt Silver's return to the land of the living almost from the beginning, but had feigned continued sleep as an excuse to keep snuggling. Even though his emotions were touched with drunkenness, Silver had been a constant source of mild affection through the night, and her own snuggling back had helped, though she didn't mind the contact on its own. However, she was becoming increasingly concerned by the change in emotions as Silver woke up, shifting slowly towards confusion, anxiety, and eventually panic. Blys mercifully had quite a bit on the stallions likes and dislikes and had a good idea on how to distract him from his panic. Silver watched as the alicorn stirred, standing on the bead and stretching, her wings extending out to either side, and giving the cutest yawn he’d ever seen. After she then sat up, her wings pulled close again, and she shook her head, leaving her mane to fall semi-messily, looked over at him and gave a playful smile. “Did you sleep well chere?” Even her accent was adorable. Silver Rain’s thought processes ground to a halt at the action. It was too much to take in at once. Everything about her screamed ‘impossible dream mare’ yet there she was, sitting on his bed, being mildly flirty, and clearly having no qualms about having just spent the night with a stallion she seemed to have just met. As Silver’s brain slowly restarted he realized he was being talked to, and the mysterious alicorn was no longer on his bed. “-ere? Silver? Are you feeling well?” Silver nearly launched himself into the air, and did skitter a few feet away from the mare that had walked up beside him and had nearly touched his cheek with her hoof. “I’M FINE, I mean, healthy, I mean, fine, that is, feeling well yes. Very well, never better.” Silver’s panicked response clearly did little to dissuade her concern, but at least she didn’t press the issue. She didn’t look convinced, but at least sat where she was. Looking at him with that concerned pout. With her tail pulled in front of her like a cat. And her mane falling to cover one of her eyes… Mercifully, before his brain could completely shut down again, his alarm went off. Having been shaken out of his trance, he realized that it was his old alarm that had gone off, and he was now pushing late for work. “AAHH, oh no work, I’m gonna be-“ He froze, realizing that he still had an alicorn princess sitting in front of him, and that just taking off on her was a VERY bad idea. Before he could offer an excuse or explanation, however, she had already realized what was going on and made the decision for him. “It is quite alright. You have responsibilities, and I do not wish to cause trouble. Please, do not let me interfere.” Silver could only stare dumbly at her for a moment, before slowly turning and heading out the door to get ready. He dared not take his eyes off her, for fear that she’d disappear somehow if he wasn’t looking. Once in the hall, he dashed downstairs to get ready, still trying to process what had happened and as going on. Blys couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something really important, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what it was. She thought that she had done an excellent job of creating Silver’s perfect mare, so why would he be afraid of her? He certainly hadn’t given her the impression that he was normally this panicky around females. Unable to come up with a solution, she used the mirror in the room to double check her disguise, and finding nothing wrong she trotted out to find her host. Down in the kitchen Silver was hurriedly preparing breakfast for his mysterious guest while downing a piece of his own toast. There was no way that he would leave her to such a simple breakfast of plane toast washed down with a quick gulp of milk, but he himself wouldn’t have time to enjoy it. Hearing a noise behind him he spun around to once again find himself nearly face to face with the unknown princess, just barely avoiding dropping the waffles. “H-here, I’m sorry I can’t stay to join you y-y-“ Waving him off the mare smiled, “it is quite alright chere, I understand. However, when you are done I would like to spend some time getting to know you, without the alcohol, oui?” Silver’s jaw once again dropped, as he realized he somehow picked her up in the BAR while drop dead drunk. As his brain continued to struggle to pull itself together he nearly failed while still failing as she stepped closer and gently lifted said jaw closed with a hoof. “Oui?” She asked again, a playful smirk gracing her lips. “W-w-we…” Silver didn’t actually know what it meant, but he had a guess. Before anything else could transpire he bolted for the door, just barely managing to stop himself before running out. “Y-you’re welcome t-to stay here as long as you like. Please, f-feel free to look around or use stuff as you need…” The invitation said, he proceeded to resume his sprint out the door leaving the confused, and more than a little amused, alicorn to her breakfast. Blys was still confused at the events unfolding, but at the same time couldn’t complain about the invitation. It solved a number of issues in terms of where to stay out of sight, as well as gave her free reign to learn more about her first mark. Smiling as she tried waffles for the first time, she settled in to plan her next steps. Silver thanked Celestia for his unnoticed entrance as he snuck into the construction area. He was independent of the regular builders and tended to receive a lot of flak from the forepony about his lagging behind the main team. So, after having set up near the current hot water node to be finished, he quickly began work, still questioning his own eyes at what he had seen that morning. Blys was more than pleased with breakfast. Hurried or no, Changelings rarely got a lot of fresh, and especially cooked, food. Being a subterranean species by nature, and one who’s primary food is emotions, the available foods at best tended to be bland and repetitive. She slowly wandered around the house, looking at pictures and newspapers, as she munched on an apple and idly cleaned up the semi-mess. While the place wasn’t exactly a disaster, it was clear that its occupant had been far more concerned with other things lately, and it was a normal thing for Changelings to clean their surroundings. In an underground hive, messes could easily result in magnifying disasters if left unchecked. It was while doing this that she happened to pick up a book, and as she started to look for the shelf it belonged to happened to look at its cover. Or at least, what she thought was its cover. Doing a double take, she realized that instead of the usual cover, the ‘front’ instead appeared to have the description on it, like on the back of most books. Confused, she turned it over, and found on the ‘back’ was indeed what would otherwise be the cover picture and title. On said cover was another winged unicorn, with ‘Princess Of Adventure’ in big letters. Curiosity piqued, Blys decided to take a short break, and hopped onto the nearby couch to see what this ‘backwards book’ was all about. As time went on Silver managed to collect his thoughts and settle into his usual work routine. Finally calm, he considered just how much he had had to drink the previous night, and came to the conclusion that what had happened was little more than a delusion from WAY too much alcohol and daydreams. There was no way he’d actually spent the night with an Alicorn Princess, and decided that perhaps he’d been reading far too many ‘Alicorn Marefriend’ nangas lately. I mean really, alicorns don’t just show up in a stallion’s life and instantly pull them into a whirlwind relationship. It had been forty-five minutes, and Blys had found herself still staring at the same page in outright horror. WHAT had she gotten herself into? So she had apparently picked a form that wasn’t just exotic, or stunning, but actually outright LEGENDARY!? How was she supposed to know this, she'd spent her whole life learning about GRIFFONS! From what she could tell from this (helpfully illustrated) book, ‘alicorns’ as they were called, were creatures of outright mythic proportions. While the most well-known ones actually ruled kingdoms, there were apparently more ‘subtle’ ones who just dropped into the lives of ponies who needed it. She was about to just get out right then and there when she considered the previous night’s conversation. Silver HAD been going through a lot, and did seem pretty down in the dumps. Would she really risk playing the role this book described? Alicorns DID seem pretty universally loved and admired…what a coup it would be to bring in such success on her first collection. And, well, Silver seemed to fit the part described, as a nice but unlucky stallion. She could not only help her hive, but get him back up on his hooves, all in one big part. Nodding, Blys had come to her decision, and immediately began searching for any more of these books to read. If she was going to go through with this, she needed to know more about what to do and how to act, and fast. Author's Note I hope everyone had a good turkey day! I toyed with the idea of using a pre-existing princess, but that felt like pushing my luck. This is actually a bit of a prototype for another story, but it's so much easier to fit things into place as a fimfiction first that I figured why not start here. I can do things FAR less seriously anyways. And yes, this is taking a few shots at the 'magical girlfriend' genre, I couldn't resist. So, as always, questions/comments/likes/ect always welcome ^_^ New Study PlanBlys sat on Silver's couch with several of his odd 'backwards books' spread out in front of her, her mind whirring with the information that had been flooded in front of her in her effort to understand what was going on. One thing was for sure, when she had shot for 'dream mare', she had seriously underestimated ponies' ability to dream. Still, she had committed to the disguise, and was rapidly starting to put together a new approach. She thought she could pull this off, though it would certainly take quite a bit of work and creativity to try to match what was shown in the books. Looking up at the clock, she saw lunch fast approaching, and decided it was time to put what she learned into action. This would be a perfect test to see if she could match the image portrayed in the books, and if it worked it would help solidify her own place in Silver's perception. With this, she quickly stacked the books neatly on the coffee table, and slipped into the kitchen to dig up a cook book. Silver's morning had been more of the same since taking this job, which was to say stressful and hurried. He wasn't sure how the crew worked as fast as they did, but trying to run the water lines fast enough to keep up with the rest of construction was a serious test of his skill. It didn't help that he couldn't keep his mind off the Mare from this morning. He had no idea how in Equestria he'd ended up in bed with an Alicorn Princess, and one that seemed to have leapt out of the pages of his books none-the-less, but right now he was seriously considering that she might not have been real at all. Between the mess of stress from work, breaking up with Orchid Mirage and, embarrassingly, the amount he had had to drink last night, a good sized piece of him questioned if he hadn't imagined his dream mare in a drunken haze, and he'd return home to find he'd just had too much at once. And honestly? That would be a bit of a relief. He hardly saw himself as the truly 'unlucky everycolt' who deserved such a drastic turnaround. It had been a rough month, but hardly an entire life of the kind of hardship from the stories, and that he even had so much to drink was just one of many virtues he lacked as opposed to the paradigms of 'nice guy' who deserved such luck. Shaking his head and laughing at himself for even thinking like such things even happened in real life, he tossed his tools into their box and climbed out of the to-be basement to try to sneak some lunch in before resuming the rush to catch up. It was at this point the little bit of good cheer he had built up deflated, realizing he had forgotten to grab a lunch for the day. He certainly had the bits to buy lunch, but that would also cost time he didn't have, and the closest place didn't offer the best food. Well, nothing to do about it, and he trotted over to his saddlebags to grab some money and follow a few of the other guys out to lunch. "Yo, Silver, what's up? You been distracted all mornin" Grinning at the big Clydesdale as he dug into his bag, "Hey Brick, yeah just a heck of a night" "I'll say", the sandy unicorn next to Brick poked up from his own bags, "no lunch today, ouch dude. Dunno what the main crew's doin' to go so fast, but I feel ya on that timetable. Want us to bring you somethin' instead?" Breathing a sigh of relief, and mentally kicking himself for not thinking to ask, he pulled out some bits and grinned at the guys, "Yeah, that'd mean a lot Spiff, here gu-" "Woah" Silver took a second to process the stunned look on both his friends’ faces, before turning around to see what had elicited such a reaction. And promptly found himself needing to pick his jaw up off the ground. There, trotting down the sidewalk, was the gorgeous mare from this morning. Silver's brain desperately fought to understand the new reality around him as he stared dumbly at the approaching Autumn Bliss. When she got closer though, he did finally manage to put some pieces together. Under the saddle bags (which he absently noted were another set of his) he saw a distinct lack of wings. So, a unicorn then. That he could accept more readily, if still somewhat out of left field. Perhaps, because of her similarity to that old daydream, he'd just thought he'd seen those wings in his morning haze. But what was she doing here!? Silver was brought out of his stupor when he realized a hoof was waving in front of his face, and he flinched back, reeling Bliss had been trying to get his attention. "Mr. Silver, you are alright? Yes?" "Y-yes, sorry. What a-are you doing here?" In spite of his best efforts, he couldn't keep that hint of wonder out of his voice, still seeing 'shadows' of those wings from the morning. "OH! Well, I saw that you had been ready to pack un lunch, but did not take one. You were so kind to allow me to stay with you at your maison, I wished to repay your generosity." With that, she opened the bags with her magic and deposited the lunch on a nearby table. And what a lunch it was! Silver couldn't even recognize a few of the dishes, and he was amazed at what she had concocted with the admittedly limited variety of food he kept at home. "Th-thank...wow, uh, thanks...wow..." Giggling at his shock, the unicorn flashed him a sympathetic smile, "Now, I am sure we do not have time now, but you must introduce me to your friends properly next time. You enjoy your lunch, and I will go pick up few things at market, and will see you tonight, oui?" Silver nodded quickly, finally managing to pull his thoughts back together. "Y-yeah, absolutely! Thanks, seriously, you're a lifesaver." Smiling, she over to him and gave him a quick nuzzle on the cheek, "not quite yet, but perhaps~" With that she turned with a flourish, and practically pranced on her way off to her shopping. Silver stared off where she had been for a few moments, before being knocked over by his fellow workers. "DETAILS. NOW." Bliss giggled to herself once out of sight of the collection of construction workers. Silver was adorable when caught off guard, and she seemed very good at keeping him that way. She knew she had been getting stares, but the emotions had been largely the good kinds of 'positive', so she considered it a solid success. Especially with Silvers reaction. In spite of his fractured response, he seemed to be getting better with her presence, and by the time she left she could feel his emotions becoming more solid, a sign of his own confidence in who she was. So, for now she'd get to go to a market for the first time in her life, before heading back to prepare for the events of the night. In spite of things going well with Silver, she had noticed somethings at the house he was helping build that didn't sit well with her. She might not be familiar with pony style construction, but all changelings knew how to build large structures, and she saw a few signs as to just why Silver was having trouble keeping up. Well, she'd just have to fix that while she was here. Following lunch, in which Silver had spent quite a bit of time fielding questions, the excitement had died down with the return of the taskmaster of a chief forepony and everypony had had to rush back to work. And as a result, Silver was EXHAUSTED. In spite of this, he was in good spirits for once, and it didn't even involve 'spirits' of a specific kind to get there. With things finally sorted out mentally, he was looking forward to having a chance to get to know the mysterious unicorn named Autumn Bliss. And honestly? It was a HUGE relief that she was a unicorn. Even then things were going to get interesting, but Silver wasn't sure he could take the kind of excitement that came with an actual Alicorn Princess. Poking his nose in the front door he noticed two things immediately. One, his disaster of an apartment has been cleaned. Embarrassing, but he'd be sure to repay the kindness. And two, holy Celestia whatever was cooking smelled divine. Grinning at the irony, he called out, "Miss Autumn? I'm home." A bit awkward when addressing a house guest, but he wasn't sure how else to approach her, short of knocking on his own front door. "I am in the kitchen chere, and please, Bliss is fine~" Silver barely suppressed a blush at the beautiful sing-song of how she spoke, and happily trotted into the kitchen. "What're you cook-" Silver's jaw was becoming quite well acquainted with the floor, as the beautiful mare turned and flashed him a brilliant smile, tilting her head at his half-question. Her wings raised in excitement. Author's Note First of all I would like to thank everyone for the various favs, watches, and patience, with my unscheduled hiatus. Seriously your support is VERY appreciated. I will be seeking to return to my 'upload a chapter of something a week' schedule, as outlined in my blog. Hopefully on a decent rotation to make sure everything updates within a reasonable time. Thanks again, I look forward to hearing what ya think of this one. Practical ApplicationSilver's eye twitched as he stared at the mare in front of him. The Alicorn mare in front of him. Of course she had disguised her wings, she wouldn't have wanted to let the whole world know. A tilt of her head signaled he should at least try to act coherently. "So, uh, wow that smells great. You really didn't have to cook dinner." "Think nothing ov it. You offered me a place to stay, what else could I do but thank my generous host." Good Celestia he could listen to her talk all day, "w-well, wow. Uh, well thank you in return then." He followed her motion to sit down while she turned to prepare the plates. "Um, what is it?" "I am afraid I have forgotten the name, it is a dish I picked up when traveling through Griffin territories." With that it dawned on him that she was indeed traveling, perhaps it was just coincidence, as unlikely as an Alicorn was. "If I might ask, to where? The Griffin Kingdom isn't close, you've come quite a ways. Did you plan to move to Manehatten or...?" Bliss smiled as she turned around, placing a fully laden plate in front of Silver, and sat down herself. "Oh, yes I travel quite a bit. I do not know where I am going yet, but it is quite a journey. As for staying here, I hope I do not impose, but I had planned to stay as long as needed." He really WAS in one of those stories. Mysterious Alicorn, comes out of nowhere, unknown journey, will stay 'as long as needed', she's actually in some quest to protect something, and somehow I ran right into it. Doing his best to hide his shock (again), Silver took a bite of Bliss's cooking. While he wouldn't call it the best thing he had ever had, it was certainly very good, she knew how to cook, that was for sure. Flashing her a smile and nod of thanks, the two dug in, engaging in a little small talk, Bliss mostly asking more questions about him, while dodging the few he dared ask her for the most part. Not that he could blame her, she was probably trying to protect him. After dinner the two settled in to do the dishes, in spite of Silver trying to insist Bliss needn't help. After a bit of quiet, she turned to him. "So, what do you have planned for me for tomorrow?" Managing to keep from freezing this time, he turned, "w-what do you mean?" "Well, I had hoped you would be showing me around this city of yours. I have never been in Equestria before without being on the move, and am most interested in taking in the sites." Silvers heart dropped, how was he supposed to handle this? "Oh geeze. I'm so sorry, I was called in to work this weekend, I have to catch up before the rest of the crew can move forward." With this Bliss pouted, "Oh come now, they cannot truly expect you to work over weekend. It is not correct to ask this of you when you already work so hard." "I-I know, and I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it." The determined glint in his guest’s eyes didn't do anything to comfort him. "We shall be seeing about that. Well, I must retire, and you seem to need sleep as well. We shall speak of this again in the morning, and see if we cannot make things right for you." Silver found himself blushing at how quickly she had turned protective of him. However mad the situation was, he couldn't really help but be grateful for the amount of support she was showing him. Bliss used the opening to sneak in a nuzzle, doubling the brightness in his cheeks, before slipping off to the guest room, giving him one last playful swat with her tail. After watching her disappear from view, and likely staring long after, Silver gave himself a good shake to try to get thinking straight. WOW what a mare. Finally collecting himself, he quickly readied a few things for the next day, and followed her advice, slipping off to bed, hoping he wouldn't wake up to find the day had been the dream. Blys waited by her door, the lights off to not give herself away, and felt the flood of emotions being directed at her. Wow she hadn't imagined that this is what it was like outside the hive, or that direct emotions were so strong, but she knew she had found a good thing and wasn't about to screw it up. She had committed to the Alicorn disguise and wasn't about to screw it up. So, after confirming her host was asleep, she quietly slipped out of the house to enact her plan. Step one of Operation Silver Weekend was fairly straightforward. It hadn't taken much extra investigation to determine that the guys who had hired him were cutting corners in their construction, and a quick trip to the library had revealed exactly where to put a little pressure. Which, interestingly enough, wasn't the building itself. Instead, she followed a few markers she had placed earlier to where the forepony, one Fast Build, was enjoying a card game with a few of his fellows. Changing into a disguise she had prepared earlier, she stormed in, not bothering to knock. "Oi, buddy, I don't know who you are, but this is a private game, get lost." "Very well, do you want to hand in your contractor licenses now or on Monday?" That got their attentions. "Who do you think-" "I THINK I'm from the inspector’s office, and I just happened to have passed that house your building earlier today." Stunned silence from the peanut gallery, now to press the issue. "Normally I'd just play my part and keep quiet, but it's not just you idiots building that place. Those other contractors also have their licenses on the line, and what happens when one of them figures it out? They report it if they wanna keep working in this city. So YOU better get things fixed, or we're ALL going to be in trouble." Blys could see the gears turning, her disguise was just a made up identity, but clearly they did actually have a deal with somepony, else they wouldn't be rapidly working up a sweat. "Ok ok, we'll get it...Tartarus blast it all I called that water layer in for the weekend, what'm I supposed to do about him!?" Blys surprised a grin, hook line and sinker, whatever that meant. "I'll take care of him till Monday, but it'll go better if he doesn't have to hear about missing the days. If he starts asking questions any fixes you make won't be worth squat." Gratitude, tainted with greed, but gratitude none-the-less, good, they were going for it. Nods around the room confirmed they were in no mood to argue. "Sure, thanks for the, uh, friendly advice. We'll pull our end if you take care of yours. C'mon boys we gotta scram." Blys stood to the side as the construction ponies bolted out, then followed suite, closing the door. Once they were out of sight she shifted to a pegasus and flew back to Silvers place. Part one had worked flawlessly, now for the trickier bit. Silver yawned, waking up to the smell of breakfast already in the works. His dreams had been filled with Alicorn beauty, and the smell of breakfast told him he hadn't imagined the previous day. He had no idea how that had been real, but wow had things changed in a hurry. Quickly getting cleaned up, he was just reaching the kitchen when he realized that, amazing turn or no, there was no way he was getting out of his extra work, which rapidly deflated his mood. "Oh, good morning chere, please, have a seat, breakfast is nearly ready." "Thanks Bliss. Look, about last night, and today. I'm really sorry but-" A hoof on his lips stopped him, leaving him staring wide eyed at its owner, and the mischievous grin on her face. Silvers eyes widened as he recognized it from his comics, she was up to something, and about to drag him into it. "Now, I will take care of everythink." "Wait wait, what, how, I don't-" Before he could finish, she had stepped back, and a magical glow enveloped not just her horn, but her as well. Silver stared wide eyed as the shine intensified, before he heard the crack of a powerful spell, a near blinding light, then, even as it died in the room, a myriad of rainbow colors streaming in through the widows, and the distant rumble of thunder. "WHAT!?" Bliss was staring at him after his outburst, head tilted to the side. "What is wrong? I said I would take care of it. Now you do not have to go in to work till Monday." Silvers jaw now questioned the possibility of starting a card game with the floor, they met often enough. Inwardly Blys was squeeing at Silvers reaction. And it hadn't even been that hard. A little advanced planning, combined with some illusion magic and lights, and she actually had him believing she had somehow altered reality. The flood of emotions, everything from love to awe to gratitude, was incredible. And that adorable look on his face wasn't a bad bonus. Author's Note At some point I might get sick of shocking Silver, but for now it's too much fun. And I know that things are really following the manga stereotypes, but, well, when Blys is following that playbook, and Silver's read too many, the start certainly fits, but I've already got some things in the works that I hope change things up for ya'll.
Doing ResearchBlyskawica, Blys to her friends (or anyling who couldn't pronounce her name), happily trotted along the suburbs surrounding Manehatten. Her Changeling hive had recently relocated from Griffin territory to avoid suspicion, and as a result quite a few rookies were getting a chance at their first collection, not to mention their first good look at society beyond the hive. It was a common thing. Rookie collectors were often sent, with overseer help of course, as part of the early deployments because they hadn't yet become accustomed to a set culture. As such they were the fastest to adapt and blend in, while the previous groups spent time relearning mannerisms to avoid risking getting confused. Blys, of course, intended to ensure she proved herself. Poor performance would see her reassigned back to her old duties helping tend to the hive. While there was still room for advancement, she didn't like the thought of being confined to the hive. Sure, she loved her home, but the adventure and experience of the outside world had always kept her dreaming, and few Changelings held the same kind of respect as the collectors did. The description of the job was simple and easy: Blend in, gather ambient emotional energy, don't get caught. Of course, actually achieving those goals was another story. Blending in on its own was a challenge, rapidly absorbing another culture and pretending to have always been a part of it. This was compounded by the second part. While nearly all sentient creatures gave off emotional energy, it dissipated quickly and was best gathered when directed directly at the collector. This meant either pretending to be another pony, or endearing yourself in disguise. Considering how long the second could take, it was often the first. Since Blys' hive didn't approve of ponynapping, this meant finding an opening, slipping in for a few hours, and getting out. Not easy in the least. And all of this, of course, meant not getting caught was never easy. Of course, that was when the most productive method was used. Rookies rarely attempted replacement, and Blys wasn't so overconfident to try. She was currently disguised as an unassuming grey on grey mare, young but unremarkable. The plan was to blend in and learn, then when she got an opening, shift to a separate, more 'appropriate', disguise of her own design based on the situation, and move on from there. These tactics often resulted in either friendship or lust, depending on the situation, and while friendship was the more desirable of the two, for several reasons, early encounters usually generated fairly weak amounts of energy, as opposed to the stronger, but less desirable, lust. She froze and quickly stepped off to the side of the sidewalk as she felt the slow creep of depression nearby. Looking around she spotted an earth pony stallion with a white coat and dusty grey mane slowly walking on the sidewalk across from her. The grey made him appear a little older at a glance, but any further inspection showed he was actually rather young, if a tad thin for the average stallion. And something was eating at him. Not literally of course, but while it wasn't the spiraling depression of a life falling apart, something bad had happened. Something that, perhaps, he would be grateful to have some help with. Doing her best to continue to remain unnoticed, Blys turned around and followed the stallion, careful to keep behind his field of vision as she watched him continue down the street, and turn into a bar she had passed earlier. Well, while some alcohol might muddle the emotions a little, it would help nudge him in the direction she hoped he'd go... Silver Rain walked into the bar and headed towards a booth near the back. It’d been a bad couple of weeks, and didn’t seem to be getting any better. Getting dumped a couple days ago had just been the topper. Silver wasn’t normally one for getting drunk, but after everything, he found the harder drinks too tempting to resist. Ordering a Cider, he settled into his seat to try to forget things for a while. As he settled in, he failed to notice the grey mare taking a seat in the booth behind him. Blys took her seat back to back with the stallion she followed in, and from listening into his conversation with the server managed to determine that he’d had a serious run of bad luck lately. While she couldn’t catch everything, the two major events she could latch onto were that things had started with two weeks of extra hours without pay at his work, and the most recent event had apparently been a very bad breakup a couple days ago. Well, this she could work with. She felt a little bad about taking advantage of this, but it wasn’t anything unusual, and on the bright side, however she handles this could very well cheer him up to. With this she ordered a plain old cider to sip on while she waited, and was surprised at how good it was, and the little bit of love she got out of it. She made a mental note to tell someling to have a look at this ‘Sweet Apple Acres’, wherever that was. Finally cast a simple spell to make this Silver pony a bit more suggestible without realizing he’s talking to her, and began nudging him towards ‘mumbling to himself’ about what was wrong. Blys did her best to hide her embarrassment as she followed Silver home. She had nudged him on as he drank to try to make it easier to keep getting information, but in the process had accidentally gotten him quite drunk. But as a plus, she had managed to find out quite a bit about him and right now was holding a full on conversation with him without him realizing he’s not talking to himself. Once Blys saw they were the only two in view, she moved on with her plan. There wasn’t much she could do but offer sympathy mostly, but, she could at least try to distract him from his loneliness. With this in mind she decided on a pony from out of town, passing through for a day or two, and started questioning him about his perfect mare. It took a bit of encouragement, but she finally managed to get it out of him. Changing form she took a second to adjust to the changes, and looked at her reflection in a window to make sure everything was in place. She wasn’t familiar enough with ponies to be sure, but she felt that her new look would certainly be an eye catcher. Trotting quietly to catch back up, she watched him turn towards the steps of what she assumed was his home, and watched him fumble to try to get the door open. Giggling at his antics, she slid up beside him and put a wing over his shoulders to help support him. Silver looked up, staring at her wide eyed for a moment, managing to get out a single word. “Who…?” Tossing him her best cute smile, she leaned close and whispered, “call me Autumn Bliss, here, let me help you with that.” Using her magic, she opened the door and guided him in. Author's Note Yet another story to keep me busy. Comments welcome as always ^_^
This Is Why You Double Check Your ResearchSilver Rain groaned and shifted in his sleep, snuggling closer to the soft warmth of a dream that felt like it was hugging him back. He was barely on the edge of starting to wake up, but he could already feel the hangover making itself known and didn't want to let go of that comfort till he had to. Except...that wasn't a dream. As the misery of the hangover drug him further into wakefulness, that warm, comforting, embrace only felt more and more real. Slowly cracking his eyes, he found himself nuzzled into a mane of brilliant auburn streaked with lighter shades of red. Pulling back slowly, his eyes widened, sleep quickly shoved out of the way, as he saw the mane belonged to a gorgeous mare with a chestnut coat, white 'boots' above her horse-shoes, wings whose tips ended with more light orange feathers, and a tail to match her mane. But it wasn't waking up with a knock out mare that nearly stopped his heart. It was waking up with a knock out mare who had a long horn to go with that brilliant pair of powerful wings. Blys had felt Silver's return to the land of the living almost from the beginning, but had feigned continued sleep as an excuse to keep snuggling. Even though his emotions were touched with drunkenness, Silver had been a constant source of mild affection through the night, and her own snuggling back had helped, though she didn't mind the contact on its own. However, she was becoming increasingly concerned by the change in emotions as Silver woke up, shifting slowly towards confusion, anxiety, and eventually panic. Blys mercifully had quite a bit on the stallions likes and dislikes and had a good idea on how to distract him from his panic. Silver watched as the alicorn stirred, standing on the bead and stretching, her wings extending out to either side, and giving the cutest yawn he’d ever seen. After she then sat up, her wings pulled close again, and she shook her head, leaving her mane to fall semi-messily, looked over at him and gave a playful smile. “Did you sleep well chere?” Even her accent was adorable. Silver Rain’s thought processes ground to a halt at the action. It was too much to take in at once. Everything about her screamed ‘impossible dream mare’ yet there she was, sitting on his bed, being mildly flirty, and clearly having no qualms about having just spent the night with a stallion she seemed to have just met. As Silver’s brain slowly restarted he realized he was being talked to, and the mysterious alicorn was no longer on his bed. “-ere? Silver? Are you feeling well?” Silver nearly launched himself into the air, and did skitter a few feet away from the mare that had walked up beside him and had nearly touched his cheek with her hoof. “I’M FINE, I mean, healthy, I mean, fine, that is, feeling well yes. Very well, never better.” Silver’s panicked response clearly did little to dissuade her concern, but at least she didn’t press the issue. She didn’t look convinced, but at least sat where she was. Looking at him with that concerned pout. With her tail pulled in front of her like a cat. And her mane falling to cover one of her eyes… Mercifully, before his brain could completely shut down again, his alarm went off. Having been shaken out of his trance, he realized that it was his old alarm that had gone off, and he was now pushing late for work. “AAHH, oh no work, I’m gonna be-“ He froze, realizing that he still had an alicorn princess sitting in front of him, and that just taking off on her was a VERY bad idea. Before he could offer an excuse or explanation, however, she had already realized what was going on and made the decision for him. “It is quite alright. You have responsibilities, and I do not wish to cause trouble. Please, do not let me interfere.” Silver could only stare dumbly at her for a moment, before slowly turning and heading out the door to get ready. He dared not take his eyes off her, for fear that she’d disappear somehow if he wasn’t looking. Once in the hall, he dashed downstairs to get ready, still trying to process what had happened and as going on. Blys couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something really important, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what it was. She thought that she had done an excellent job of creating Silver’s perfect mare, so why would he be afraid of her? He certainly hadn’t given her the impression that he was normally this panicky around females. Unable to come up with a solution, she used the mirror in the room to double check her disguise, and finding nothing wrong she trotted out to find her host. Down in the kitchen Silver was hurriedly preparing breakfast for his mysterious guest while downing a piece of his own toast. There was no way that he would leave her to such a simple breakfast of plane toast washed down with a quick gulp of milk, but he himself wouldn’t have time to enjoy it. Hearing a noise behind him he spun around to once again find himself nearly face to face with the unknown princess, just barely avoiding dropping the waffles. “H-here, I’m sorry I can’t stay to join you y-y-“ Waving him off the mare smiled, “it is quite alright chere, I understand. However, when you are done I would like to spend some time getting to know you, without the alcohol, oui?” Silver’s jaw once again dropped, as he realized he somehow picked her up in the BAR while drop dead drunk. As his brain continued to struggle to pull itself together he nearly failed while still failing as she stepped closer and gently lifted said jaw closed with a hoof. “Oui?” She asked again, a playful smirk gracing her lips. “W-w-we…” Silver didn’t actually know what it meant, but he had a guess. Before anything else could transpire he bolted for the door, just barely managing to stop himself before running out. “Y-you’re welcome t-to stay here as long as you like. Please, f-feel free to look around or use stuff as you need…” The invitation said, he proceeded to resume his sprint out the door leaving the confused, and more than a little amused, alicorn to her breakfast. Blys was still confused at the events unfolding, but at the same time couldn’t complain about the invitation. It solved a number of issues in terms of where to stay out of sight, as well as gave her free reign to learn more about her first mark. Smiling as she tried waffles for the first time, she settled in to plan her next steps. Silver thanked Celestia for his unnoticed entrance as he snuck into the construction area. He was independent of the regular builders and tended to receive a lot of flak from the forepony about his lagging behind the main team. So, after having set up near the current hot water node to be finished, he quickly began work, still questioning his own eyes at what he had seen that morning. Blys was more than pleased with breakfast. Hurried or no, Changelings rarely got a lot of fresh, and especially cooked, food. Being a subterranean species by nature, and one who’s primary food is emotions, the available foods at best tended to be bland and repetitive. She slowly wandered around the house, looking at pictures and newspapers, as she munched on an apple and idly cleaned up the semi-mess. While the place wasn’t exactly a disaster, it was clear that its occupant had been far more concerned with other things lately, and it was a normal thing for Changelings to clean their surroundings. In an underground hive, messes could easily result in magnifying disasters if left unchecked. It was while doing this that she happened to pick up a book, and as she started to look for the shelf it belonged to happened to look at its cover. Or at least, what she thought was its cover. Doing a double take, she realized that instead of the usual cover, the ‘front’ instead appeared to have the description on it, like on the back of most books. Confused, she turned it over, and found on the ‘back’ was indeed what would otherwise be the cover picture and title. On said cover was another winged unicorn, with ‘Princess Of Adventure’ in big letters. Curiosity piqued, Blys decided to take a short break, and hopped onto the nearby couch to see what this ‘backwards book’ was all about. As time went on Silver managed to collect his thoughts and settle into his usual work routine. Finally calm, he considered just how much he had had to drink the previous night, and came to the conclusion that what had happened was little more than a delusion from WAY too much alcohol and daydreams. There was no way he’d actually spent the night with an Alicorn Princess, and decided that perhaps he’d been reading far too many ‘Alicorn Marefriend’ nangas lately. I mean really, alicorns don’t just show up in a stallion’s life and instantly pull them into a whirlwind relationship. It had been forty-five minutes, and Blys had found herself still staring at the same page in outright horror. WHAT had she gotten herself into? So she had apparently picked a form that wasn’t just exotic, or stunning, but actually outright LEGENDARY!? How was she supposed to know this, she'd spent her whole life learning about GRIFFONS! From what she could tell from this (helpfully illustrated) book, ‘alicorns’ as they were called, were creatures of outright mythic proportions. While the most well-known ones actually ruled kingdoms, there were apparently more ‘subtle’ ones who just dropped into the lives of ponies who needed it. She was about to just get out right then and there when she considered the previous night’s conversation. Silver HAD been going through a lot, and did seem pretty down in the dumps. Would she really risk playing the role this book described? Alicorns DID seem pretty universally loved and admired…what a coup it would be to bring in such success on her first collection. And, well, Silver seemed to fit the part described, as a nice but unlucky stallion. She could not only help her hive, but get him back up on his hooves, all in one big part. Nodding, Blys had come to her decision, and immediately began searching for any more of these books to read. If she was going to go through with this, she needed to know more about what to do and how to act, and fast. Author's Note I hope everyone had a good turkey day! I toyed with the idea of using a pre-existing princess, but that felt like pushing my luck. This is actually a bit of a prototype for another story, but it's so much easier to fit things into place as a fimfiction first that I figured why not start here. I can do things FAR less seriously anyways. And yes, this is taking a few shots at the 'magical girlfriend' genre, I couldn't resist. So, as always, questions/comments/likes/ect always welcome ^_^
New Study PlanBlys sat on Silver's couch with several of his odd 'backwards books' spread out in front of her, her mind whirring with the information that had been flooded in front of her in her effort to understand what was going on. One thing was for sure, when she had shot for 'dream mare', she had seriously underestimated ponies' ability to dream. Still, she had committed to the disguise, and was rapidly starting to put together a new approach. She thought she could pull this off, though it would certainly take quite a bit of work and creativity to try to match what was shown in the books. Looking up at the clock, she saw lunch fast approaching, and decided it was time to put what she learned into action. This would be a perfect test to see if she could match the image portrayed in the books, and if it worked it would help solidify her own place in Silver's perception. With this, she quickly stacked the books neatly on the coffee table, and slipped into the kitchen to dig up a cook book. Silver's morning had been more of the same since taking this job, which was to say stressful and hurried. He wasn't sure how the crew worked as fast as they did, but trying to run the water lines fast enough to keep up with the rest of construction was a serious test of his skill. It didn't help that he couldn't keep his mind off the Mare from this morning. He had no idea how in Equestria he'd ended up in bed with an Alicorn Princess, and one that seemed to have leapt out of the pages of his books none-the-less, but right now he was seriously considering that she might not have been real at all. Between the mess of stress from work, breaking up with Orchid Mirage and, embarrassingly, the amount he had had to drink last night, a good sized piece of him questioned if he hadn't imagined his dream mare in a drunken haze, and he'd return home to find he'd just had too much at once. And honestly? That would be a bit of a relief. He hardly saw himself as the truly 'unlucky everycolt' who deserved such a drastic turnaround. It had been a rough month, but hardly an entire life of the kind of hardship from the stories, and that he even had so much to drink was just one of many virtues he lacked as opposed to the paradigms of 'nice guy' who deserved such luck. Shaking his head and laughing at himself for even thinking like such things even happened in real life, he tossed his tools into their box and climbed out of the to-be basement to try to sneak some lunch in before resuming the rush to catch up. It was at this point the little bit of good cheer he had built up deflated, realizing he had forgotten to grab a lunch for the day. He certainly had the bits to buy lunch, but that would also cost time he didn't have, and the closest place didn't offer the best food. Well, nothing to do about it, and he trotted over to his saddlebags to grab some money and follow a few of the other guys out to lunch. "Yo, Silver, what's up? You been distracted all mornin" Grinning at the big Clydesdale as he dug into his bag, "Hey Brick, yeah just a heck of a night" "I'll say", the sandy unicorn next to Brick poked up from his own bags, "no lunch today, ouch dude. Dunno what the main crew's doin' to go so fast, but I feel ya on that timetable. Want us to bring you somethin' instead?" Breathing a sigh of relief, and mentally kicking himself for not thinking to ask, he pulled out some bits and grinned at the guys, "Yeah, that'd mean a lot Spiff, here gu-" "Woah" Silver took a second to process the stunned look on both his friends’ faces, before turning around to see what had elicited such a reaction. And promptly found himself needing to pick his jaw up off the ground. There, trotting down the sidewalk, was the gorgeous mare from this morning. Silver's brain desperately fought to understand the new reality around him as he stared dumbly at the approaching Autumn Bliss. When she got closer though, he did finally manage to put some pieces together. Under the saddle bags (which he absently noted were another set of his) he saw a distinct lack of wings. So, a unicorn then. That he could accept more readily, if still somewhat out of left field. Perhaps, because of her similarity to that old daydream, he'd just thought he'd seen those wings in his morning haze. But what was she doing here!? Silver was brought out of his stupor when he realized a hoof was waving in front of his face, and he flinched back, reeling Bliss had been trying to get his attention. "Mr. Silver, you are alright? Yes?" "Y-yes, sorry. What a-are you doing here?" In spite of his best efforts, he couldn't keep that hint of wonder out of his voice, still seeing 'shadows' of those wings from the morning. "OH! Well, I saw that you had been ready to pack un lunch, but did not take one. You were so kind to allow me to stay with you at your maison, I wished to repay your generosity." With that, she opened the bags with her magic and deposited the lunch on a nearby table. And what a lunch it was! Silver couldn't even recognize a few of the dishes, and he was amazed at what she had concocted with the admittedly limited variety of food he kept at home. "Th-thank...wow, uh, thanks...wow..." Giggling at his shock, the unicorn flashed him a sympathetic smile, "Now, I am sure we do not have time now, but you must introduce me to your friends properly next time. You enjoy your lunch, and I will go pick up few things at market, and will see you tonight, oui?" Silver nodded quickly, finally managing to pull his thoughts back together. "Y-yeah, absolutely! Thanks, seriously, you're a lifesaver." Smiling, she over to him and gave him a quick nuzzle on the cheek, "not quite yet, but perhaps~" With that she turned with a flourish, and practically pranced on her way off to her shopping. Silver stared off where she had been for a few moments, before being knocked over by his fellow workers. "DETAILS. NOW." Bliss giggled to herself once out of sight of the collection of construction workers. Silver was adorable when caught off guard, and she seemed very good at keeping him that way. She knew she had been getting stares, but the emotions had been largely the good kinds of 'positive', so she considered it a solid success. Especially with Silvers reaction. In spite of his fractured response, he seemed to be getting better with her presence, and by the time she left she could feel his emotions becoming more solid, a sign of his own confidence in who she was. So, for now she'd get to go to a market for the first time in her life, before heading back to prepare for the events of the night. In spite of things going well with Silver, she had noticed somethings at the house he was helping build that didn't sit well with her. She might not be familiar with pony style construction, but all changelings knew how to build large structures, and she saw a few signs as to just why Silver was having trouble keeping up. Well, she'd just have to fix that while she was here. Following lunch, in which Silver had spent quite a bit of time fielding questions, the excitement had died down with the return of the taskmaster of a chief forepony and everypony had had to rush back to work. And as a result, Silver was EXHAUSTED. In spite of this, he was in good spirits for once, and it didn't even involve 'spirits' of a specific kind to get there. With things finally sorted out mentally, he was looking forward to having a chance to get to know the mysterious unicorn named Autumn Bliss. And honestly? It was a HUGE relief that she was a unicorn. Even then things were going to get interesting, but Silver wasn't sure he could take the kind of excitement that came with an actual Alicorn Princess. Poking his nose in the front door he noticed two things immediately. One, his disaster of an apartment has been cleaned. Embarrassing, but he'd be sure to repay the kindness. And two, holy Celestia whatever was cooking smelled divine. Grinning at the irony, he called out, "Miss Autumn? I'm home." A bit awkward when addressing a house guest, but he wasn't sure how else to approach her, short of knocking on his own front door. "I am in the kitchen chere, and please, Bliss is fine~" Silver barely suppressed a blush at the beautiful sing-song of how she spoke, and happily trotted into the kitchen. "What're you cook-" Silver's jaw was becoming quite well acquainted with the floor, as the beautiful mare turned and flashed him a brilliant smile, tilting her head at his half-question. Her wings raised in excitement. Author's Note First of all I would like to thank everyone for the various favs, watches, and patience, with my unscheduled hiatus. Seriously your support is VERY appreciated. I will be seeking to return to my 'upload a chapter of something a week' schedule, as outlined in my blog. Hopefully on a decent rotation to make sure everything updates within a reasonable time. Thanks again, I look forward to hearing what ya think of this one.
Practical ApplicationSilver's eye twitched as he stared at the mare in front of him. The Alicorn mare in front of him. Of course she had disguised her wings, she wouldn't have wanted to let the whole world know. A tilt of her head signaled he should at least try to act coherently. "So, uh, wow that smells great. You really didn't have to cook dinner." "Think nothing ov it. You offered me a place to stay, what else could I do but thank my generous host." Good Celestia he could listen to her talk all day, "w-well, wow. Uh, well thank you in return then." He followed her motion to sit down while she turned to prepare the plates. "Um, what is it?" "I am afraid I have forgotten the name, it is a dish I picked up when traveling through Griffin territories." With that it dawned on him that she was indeed traveling, perhaps it was just coincidence, as unlikely as an Alicorn was. "If I might ask, to where? The Griffin Kingdom isn't close, you've come quite a ways. Did you plan to move to Manehatten or...?" Bliss smiled as she turned around, placing a fully laden plate in front of Silver, and sat down herself. "Oh, yes I travel quite a bit. I do not know where I am going yet, but it is quite a journey. As for staying here, I hope I do not impose, but I had planned to stay as long as needed." He really WAS in one of those stories. Mysterious Alicorn, comes out of nowhere, unknown journey, will stay 'as long as needed', she's actually in some quest to protect something, and somehow I ran right into it. Doing his best to hide his shock (again), Silver took a bite of Bliss's cooking. While he wouldn't call it the best thing he had ever had, it was certainly very good, she knew how to cook, that was for sure. Flashing her a smile and nod of thanks, the two dug in, engaging in a little small talk, Bliss mostly asking more questions about him, while dodging the few he dared ask her for the most part. Not that he could blame her, she was probably trying to protect him. After dinner the two settled in to do the dishes, in spite of Silver trying to insist Bliss needn't help. After a bit of quiet, she turned to him. "So, what do you have planned for me for tomorrow?" Managing to keep from freezing this time, he turned, "w-what do you mean?" "Well, I had hoped you would be showing me around this city of yours. I have never been in Equestria before without being on the move, and am most interested in taking in the sites." Silvers heart dropped, how was he supposed to handle this? "Oh geeze. I'm so sorry, I was called in to work this weekend, I have to catch up before the rest of the crew can move forward." With this Bliss pouted, "Oh come now, they cannot truly expect you to work over weekend. It is not correct to ask this of you when you already work so hard." "I-I know, and I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it." The determined glint in his guest’s eyes didn't do anything to comfort him. "We shall be seeing about that. Well, I must retire, and you seem to need sleep as well. We shall speak of this again in the morning, and see if we cannot make things right for you." Silver found himself blushing at how quickly she had turned protective of him. However mad the situation was, he couldn't really help but be grateful for the amount of support she was showing him. Bliss used the opening to sneak in a nuzzle, doubling the brightness in his cheeks, before slipping off to the guest room, giving him one last playful swat with her tail. After watching her disappear from view, and likely staring long after, Silver gave himself a good shake to try to get thinking straight. WOW what a mare. Finally collecting himself, he quickly readied a few things for the next day, and followed her advice, slipping off to bed, hoping he wouldn't wake up to find the day had been the dream. Blys waited by her door, the lights off to not give herself away, and felt the flood of emotions being directed at her. Wow she hadn't imagined that this is what it was like outside the hive, or that direct emotions were so strong, but she knew she had found a good thing and wasn't about to screw it up. She had committed to the Alicorn disguise and wasn't about to screw it up. So, after confirming her host was asleep, she quietly slipped out of the house to enact her plan. Step one of Operation Silver Weekend was fairly straightforward. It hadn't taken much extra investigation to determine that the guys who had hired him were cutting corners in their construction, and a quick trip to the library had revealed exactly where to put a little pressure. Which, interestingly enough, wasn't the building itself. Instead, she followed a few markers she had placed earlier to where the forepony, one Fast Build, was enjoying a card game with a few of his fellows. Changing into a disguise she had prepared earlier, she stormed in, not bothering to knock. "Oi, buddy, I don't know who you are, but this is a private game, get lost." "Very well, do you want to hand in your contractor licenses now or on Monday?" That got their attentions. "Who do you think-" "I THINK I'm from the inspector’s office, and I just happened to have passed that house your building earlier today." Stunned silence from the peanut gallery, now to press the issue. "Normally I'd just play my part and keep quiet, but it's not just you idiots building that place. Those other contractors also have their licenses on the line, and what happens when one of them figures it out? They report it if they wanna keep working in this city. So YOU better get things fixed, or we're ALL going to be in trouble." Blys could see the gears turning, her disguise was just a made up identity, but clearly they did actually have a deal with somepony, else they wouldn't be rapidly working up a sweat. "Ok ok, we'll get it...Tartarus blast it all I called that water layer in for the weekend, what'm I supposed to do about him!?" Blys surprised a grin, hook line and sinker, whatever that meant. "I'll take care of him till Monday, but it'll go better if he doesn't have to hear about missing the days. If he starts asking questions any fixes you make won't be worth squat." Gratitude, tainted with greed, but gratitude none-the-less, good, they were going for it. Nods around the room confirmed they were in no mood to argue. "Sure, thanks for the, uh, friendly advice. We'll pull our end if you take care of yours. C'mon boys we gotta scram." Blys stood to the side as the construction ponies bolted out, then followed suite, closing the door. Once they were out of sight she shifted to a pegasus and flew back to Silvers place. Part one had worked flawlessly, now for the trickier bit. Silver yawned, waking up to the smell of breakfast already in the works. His dreams had been filled with Alicorn beauty, and the smell of breakfast told him he hadn't imagined the previous day. He had no idea how that had been real, but wow had things changed in a hurry. Quickly getting cleaned up, he was just reaching the kitchen when he realized that, amazing turn or no, there was no way he was getting out of his extra work, which rapidly deflated his mood. "Oh, good morning chere, please, have a seat, breakfast is nearly ready." "Thanks Bliss. Look, about last night, and today. I'm really sorry but-" A hoof on his lips stopped him, leaving him staring wide eyed at its owner, and the mischievous grin on her face. Silvers eyes widened as he recognized it from his comics, she was up to something, and about to drag him into it. "Now, I will take care of everythink." "Wait wait, what, how, I don't-" Before he could finish, she had stepped back, and a magical glow enveloped not just her horn, but her as well. Silver stared wide eyed as the shine intensified, before he heard the crack of a powerful spell, a near blinding light, then, even as it died in the room, a myriad of rainbow colors streaming in through the widows, and the distant rumble of thunder. "WHAT!?" Bliss was staring at him after his outburst, head tilted to the side. "What is wrong? I said I would take care of it. Now you do not have to go in to work till Monday." Silvers jaw now questioned the possibility of starting a card game with the floor, they met often enough. Inwardly Blys was squeeing at Silvers reaction. And it hadn't even been that hard. A little advanced planning, combined with some illusion magic and lights, and she actually had him believing she had somehow altered reality. The flood of emotions, everything from love to awe to gratitude, was incredible. And that adorable look on his face wasn't a bad bonus. Author's Note At some point I might get sick of shocking Silver, but for now it's too much fun. And I know that things are really following the manga stereotypes, but, well, when Blys is following that playbook, and Silver's read too many, the start certainly fits, but I've already got some things in the works that I hope change things up for ya'll.
